2. As sauce:With cutlets, fish fry, sausages rolls etc (To get sauce and dip consistency you may need to add little water and mix well)

3. Salads: Fold in finely grated carrot and serve it in small bowl – children above 5 years of age will love it. For younger children it is best to crush the carrots in to paste.You can use the same principle for any salad your child likes. Serve a different color salad each day and watch it disappear!

4. As dip:With chips, French fries etc.

The expert, Ren Chats, explains attributes of avocado

For certain misconceptions Avocado, a fruit that is almost a complete food like milk, is not a popular component of our daily diet. It features yet less frequently, if ever, in children’s diet.

How can it be popular with children? It is a fruit which has no taste. Avocado’s rich food values have given a general misconception of it being fattening.

Nutritional value

Avocado does have high caloric value (29.4%), which is only a little higher than that of Bananas (25%). In contrast to that, its carbohydrate content is only about 4.5%; much lower than that in most other fruits.

High levels of diverse fats (15%) in the fruit account for its high caloric value, which constitute three fourth of the total calories in the fruit.

Almost half of the fat in avocado is in the form of unsaturated fatty acids. Unsaturated fats are known as good fats and are essential elements of optimal nutrition. They also help in absorption of fat soluble vitamins and other nutrients.

It is also rich in iron (2%), copper, phosphorus, manganese, magnesium and zinc, which are essential elements for formation of haemoglobin, enzymes, neurotransmitters and optimal brain growth.

The protein content of the fruit is 4%. It is also a rich source for fibre and potassium.

Wonder why we have kept it away from children; maybe only because of the taste or paucity of recepies for children?

Watch out for allergic reactions to avocado

Children who have allergic tendencies should be introduced the fruit guardedly.

1. Itchy sensation and / or redness of the mouth and tongue are the symptoms of local allergy to the fruit. These symptoms occur frequently in children prone to pollen allergy.

2. A more serious form of allergic reaction is also associated with avocado: Children who are allergic to latex and / or rubber can also react severely to avocado; urticarial rash all over the body, pain in abdomen and vomiting.

This is called Latex-fruit syndrome and can be life threatening.Other fruits that are known to show similar allergic reaction are banana, chestnut, kiwi, peach, tomato, potato and bell pepper (also known as sweet pepper and capsicum).